I'm baaaaaaack!  It feels like forever since I've been here!  (And I have the work piled up on my desk to prove it!)  I appreciate your patience as I get caught up.

Thanks to all of you for your well wishes!

Congratulations to the following firsties for making their AR goal:
Tiara
Micah
Colt
Michael
Cadynne
Maha

Congratulations to these firsties who made their AR challenge goal:
Tyrie
James
Maddox

Spelling words for next week:
cue, use, pure, pew, cute, few, each, funny, silly, happy
Bonus words:
meadow, head

We started Unit 7 this week.  It's very different from our previous reading units.  There are hardly any decodable books, less blending lessons, more focus on comprehension and reading strategies (cause and effect, main idea, sequencing, etc.).  The biggest difference is that a portion of the reading test (3 questions) focus on writing the answer to a question in a complete sentence.  Also, we now have a hardback book!  This will come home a few times a week.  It is so important that your child returns it to school every day so they have it when we need it in class.

I had planned to do a "practice" test for the Itsy Bitsy Spider today.  Since I missed so many days this week I didn't get to do the normal preparation that I would've done.  I got them caught up today but I would normally have sent home a note explaining the reading tests before taking the practice test.  What I will do instead is have them take the practice test on Monday and I will send home the explanation of how the test is graded afterwards.  This test is not for a grade!  It is only for practice.  It will allow you to see the format of the reading tests for the rest of the year.

Have a wonderful weekend!  Enjoy those little darlings!  :)